Longmont mosquito pool tests positive for West Nile Virus

Mosquito larvae swim in a sample of water from the pond at Jim Hamm Nature Area in Longmont in 2008.
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Richard M. Hackett/Times-Call fi
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West Nile precautions

Boulder County Public Health officials urge residents to take precautions to protect themselves. They advise the following:

1. Use DEET-enhanced insect repellent or alternative.

2. Dress in long sleeves and pants.

3. Avoid the outdoors from dusk until dawn.

4. Drain standing water outside your home.

For more information about West Nile virus, mosquito activity in Boulder County and how to protect yourself and your loved ones, visit BoulderCountyMosquito.net.

LONGMONT -- A mosquito pool collected June 17 from multiple traps in Longmont has tested positive for West Nile virus, Boulder County Public Health announced Friday morning. This is the first positive pool in Boulder County so far this season.

To date, mosquito pools in two other Colorado counties -- Larimer and Mesa -- have tested positive for the virus.

"This positive sample serves as a reminder that although counts of Culex mosquitoes (the type of mosquito that carries WNV) remain low, risk of transmission of the virus still exists," Marshall Lipps, Boulder County Public Health environmental health specialist, said in the release. "Taking steps to protect yourself and your loved ones from being bitten by a mosquito is the best way to reduce your risk of getting the virus."

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Dan Wolford, the city of Longmont's parks, open space and greenways manager, said the virus-carrying mosquitoes came from a pool of mosquitoes from five of the 11 Longmont locations sampled each Sunday by the city's contractor, Colorado Mosquito Control Inc.

Those five locations were the Jim Hamm Nature Area; the Boulder County Fairgrounds; Left Hand Creek at Creekside; the St. Vrain Greenway at Emery Street; and Willow Creek Farm.

Boulder County Public Health spokeswoman Chana Goussetis said though the positive-testing mosquitoes came from a pool of different traps across the city, "mosquitoes fly, so the important message is that West Nile virus is here and residents should take precautions to protect themselves, regardless of where they may live or visit in Longmont."

Culex mosquitoes increase in number as temperatures rise. Human infections can occur without symptoms or can cause mild or severe illness, including fever, extreme fatigue, head and body aches; and can lead to chronic disability, including tremors, vision loss and paralysis, or even death.

"It's easy to forget that West Nile virus is still a concern since we haven't seen many cases in recent years," Lipps said. "But every one of us is at risk for the disease, regardless of where we live in the state, and we should continue to protect ourselves from mosquitoes."

Wolford said that based on the positive pools found the week earlier in Larimer County, Colorado Mosquito Control sprayed four areas last Wednesday night: Watersong/Creekside; the Jim Hamm Nature Area; Great Western Drive/Mill Village; and Sandstone Ranch.

The city of Longmont's spray schedule appears every Tuesday in a Colorado Mosquito Control ad in the Times-Call.

People seeking more information about Longmont's mosquito control program, including requests to be notified before their neighborhoods are sprayed, can contact Colorado Mosquito Control at 303-558-8730 or visit comosquitocontrol.com.

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